New fat-loving PFAS present in killer whale blubber elevate recent considerations about ocean air pollution

Scientists have found a beforehand unreported class of PFAS chemical compounds that accumulate in killer whale blubber, difficult long-held assumptions about how these poisonous compounds behave in marine life.

Rob Hutchins reports for Oceanographic Magazine.

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In quick:

• Researchers recognized 5 new varieties of fluorotelomer sulfones — fat-attracting PFAS compounds — within the blubber of killer whales from Greenland and Sweden.
• Unlike most identified PFAS, which have a tendency to construct up in liver or blood, these new substances accumulate in fatty tissue, making species with thick blubber particularly weak.
• Because blubber could make up half a marine mammal’s physique mass, present estimates of PFAS publicity might dramatically understate the precise chemical burden.

Key quote:

“These findings suggest we may be underestimating the PFAS body burden in marine mammals. Blubber can represent up to half of a marine mammal’s body mass, so neglecting fat-soluble PFAS could significantly undermine the accuracy of exposure assessments.”

— Jonathan Benskin, professor on the Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University

Why this issues:

The discovery that new varieties of PFAS can conceal out in fats as an alternative of the standard protein-rich organs expands the scope of concern. Killer whales are apex predators, so their contamination indicators widespread, layered air pollution all through the marine meals net. And as a result of marine mammals kind a part of conventional diets in some Indigenous communities, the chemical compounds could also be making their manner into human our bodies too. As PFAS proceed for use in merchandise from clothes to meals packaging, their presence in blubber provides one other layer of complexity to regulating these persistent pollution.

Related: Opinion: Invisible pollution are infiltrating our our bodies and the planet